


Dog Days

by Florabellafluff (VesperGrey)



Category: Florence + the Machine
Genre: Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Nightmares, Puppy Love, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-21
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-02 16:15:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2818373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VesperGrey/pseuds/Florabellafluff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Terrified at the thought of sleeping alone, Florence is greeted with a surprise delivery.<br/>The kind with fur and paws.<br/>And wakes up to an even better surprise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dog Days

**Author's Note:**

> Yet more worthless fluff and cuddles?  
> You bet.  
> :3  
> Feedback is, as always, much appreciated.  
> Read on!

After half an hour of staring into empty space yielded nothing, Florence Welch groaned and turned over on her side. All this was giving her a headache.

Not loud music or the roar of a crowd, she could handle that. Thrived in it. By far the thing she hated the most was this unbearable silence.

On an impulse she screamed, "GRACIE!"

Though her shrill cry echoed through the small house, she knew there'd be no reply. Grace had left early this morning to spend a weekend with an old school friend.

But anything to break the monotony! She'd gone to the secondhand store, visited the park, doodled in a few old notebooks, until at last even screaming old Beyonce hits held no appeal.

She was driving herself crazy.

_How will I last another week?!?_

Isa had left for LA ten days ago. 

Ten long days. 

Sophie and Grace had been great about it, but they could only help so much. And now that Grace was away for the weekend-

Florence curled up on her bed.

She couldn't very well ask Sadsack to spend the night without a reason. 

_Except there is a reason._

Yes, except 'I'm can't sleep alone' sounds a lot better when you're seven.

_She'd probably understand._

But Florence hated to admit such weakness. 

_So, look like a child or..._

She trembled at the thought of what she knew would happen. The dreams. Shifting clouds of oily black, smoky creatures whispering her name. Whispering truths that she could ignore during the day, but the voices were always louder by night.

_"No one needs you. You're alone and unwanted . Can't you see them all laughing at you?_

And they knew her sins. They kept them etched in stone.

_"We're waiting, Florence. We're waiting for you. And we never forget..."_

Already, she could feel their icy fingers crawling down her spine.

_Sophie it is, then._

But she'd put off that call as long as possible. 

Meantime...

She sighed and pulled out another CD. Before she could put it in, though, her phone hummed.

A vague sound of surprise escaped her lips, and she sat up, stunned, for a moment. When the reality of the situation hit her, she leapt off the bed and began shuffling through the clutter from her floor to find the source of the sound. Papers, a stuffed lamb, a few dried flowers... basically anything that had caught her fancy lay before her. Finally under a blue composition book she found her phone, nearly dropped it in her haste to pick it up, and finally answered.

"Hello?"

"Hiya, princess!" 

Florence recognized the warm, slightly raspy voice immediately. 

"Dev! Haven't seen you in a while, Blood Orange boy, what's up?"

"Jam sesh. Downtown shed. Me and you and Tom and a couple'a drums for a few hours. You in?"

"That's a pretty small group... and you've never played with Tom before..."

"Well, nothin' to do today and we're all looking for a good time. You in or not?"

"...This is just because Isa's gone, isn't it? So now Gracie's hiring babysitters. I don't need-"

"She just said you were feeling down, and we can't have you upset. C'mon, sweetheart, you could use the company."

"Alright. Should I bring anything?"

"Just get your lovely self down here and sing like no one's listening."

He hung up in his usual abrupt manner. Florence couldn't help but smile. Despite how much he tried to hide it, Dev was a bit protective of her. Like an older brother.

Over her camisole she pulled on a soft white top, with flowing sleeves made of a crisp translucent material. Might as well look decent. She looked around the room hopelessly for any sign of her keys, then shrugged and slipped into her favorite leather sandals. The 'shed' they usually met at was a few blocks down, just past the park, and it was a nice day.

So she began to walk.

\-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Four hours, one tequila, and about fifty obscure songs later, the music began to die down. Rob had shown up, surprisingly. Afternoons like this weren't usually his thing. It'd been a great time, though. But by now all four of them were hungry and the afternoon had faded to nearly evening.

" 'S been great," Tom called out above the rustle of instruments being put away.

"Yeah, thanks guys. I needed this," Florence said, perched on an uptturned plastic bucket. Dev only nodded and smiled in return. Rob fiddled with the clasps on his guitar case.

"Bundle up. Gonna be a chilly night."

They parted ways, each eager to get a warm blanket and hot tea.

"Oh, and Flo?"

She looked over her shoulder to hear Tom's last words. 

"This week'll be over before ya know it. Is will be back soon."

Though she smiled and turned to continue home, the well intended comment sent her reeling. She'd nearly forgotten the problems to come. 

What were the words Rob had mumbled? It'll be a chilly night. 

_Very,_ very _cold._

Anxiety already coiled her chest into a cold knot.

What if Sophie was busy? God knows the world can't revolve around one insignificant person and her nightmares. 

Cross that bridge when we get to it.

For now, though, just focus on getting home. Just get home. One thing at a time.

Each step rang out in the cold air and stung her feet. 

She stared stubbornly at the pavement, focusing intently on her surroundings. A bird,a patch of grass, a lily by the road. 

Anything to block out thoughts of anything else. A few lines of a song drifted through her head, fuzzy ideas like looking through fog.  
It was some sort of story. Something about a girl with eyes the color of the sea. All she wanted was to go home. She couldn't, though, not without her seal-skin. 

_A selkie._

The ultimate loneliness. Prodded and plucked into submission, till she finally found a way back to the shoreline. She was free, now, gazing back at the only ties to land she had. The husband and children that couldn't hold her back. 

_Oh, my love, don't forget me when I let the water take me._

A quiet chuckle escaped her lips.

Is it vain to quote yourself? 

_Show me the sea, love. Your brick walls hold no glamour._

Would it truly be such a bad thing? To lose a lover to the sea? Florence let her mind wander where it wished.

_And he gave her pearls and roses, but she slept with sea - spray on her breath, and it could never be enough._

Her reverie was broken when she realized she stood on her own doorstep. For a few moments she still smelled salty water and walked on white sand; she forced herself back into reality.

Home. London. 

Isa. Gone. 

Gracie. Away.

Sophie.

Right! 

Get inside, make the call. She fumbled with the keys in her cold, stiff fingers, and finally got in to run upstairs to her room. She sighed in exasperation at the thought of finding her phone, but suddenly remembered it was in the pocket of the red jacket she'd worn downtown. Which she had, as usual, tore off on her way upstairs.

_Crap._

She stumbled downstairs to retrieve the jacket, only to be interrupted by a faint thud on the door.

"Yes?"

Grace back early? 

"Delivery for a Miss Welch!"

_What the..._

Rob sending flowers? Never. Some freaky present from Dev, then?

She opened the door to a boy and a box. The boy couldn't be more than seventeen, and hardly fit his red plaid shirt.

"I was asked to bring this today, ma'am. Something about your sister."

"Thank you..."

He nodded politely and left on the bicycle he'd left leaning on the wall.

Now, what in the world was this?

She knelt to look closer at the box. Adressed to her, alright. Nothing else, though. 

He'd said it was about Grace somehow... 

_She'd never send something she could have just handed to me this morning._

Maybe Soph had clothes for Grace. But why the mysterious box?

She yelped in a definitely undignified manner and leapt back when said box twitched slightly.

Definitely not clothes.

She debated the wisdom of opening an unaddressed, unmarked box with moving contents. Probably some psycho fan sending her a robot or something.

And probably not a good idea.

The box wiggled again

Definitely unwise.

Curiosity (as usual) overruled any of her other senses, and she leaned cautiously to pull it open.

The last few dying rays of sunlight shone down on gleaming golden fur and a lavender ribbon. 

"Oh..."

Though not the most impressive of statements, it was all Florence could manage. Wriggling inside the mystery package was a puppy, and only a few months old. Its whole body wagged with the joy of being noticed, from its coal black nose to its stumpy tail. Almost instinctively Florence knelt to stroke its head, marvelling at the downy softness. 

"Oh, you little sweetheart..."

The puppy sat up to meet her hand, and in doing so revealed a slightly soggy note. It bore the marks of puppy teeth on one corner, but the writing was still legible. Florence picked up the puppy in one arm (and quickly gave up on trying to keep it from kissing her cheek) and the note in the other hand. Upon closer examination she recognized the handwriting of the purple ink scrawled across the page.

"Grace told me she was leaving. Now you won't have to sleep alone ♡"

No more. No 'I miss you's, nothing else. But as Florence stared at the note and the warm bundle settled in her right arm, she felt the icy anxiety melting. 

Isa was thinking of her.

Giving her company so she wouldn't be alone.

She stood and looked into tiny melted chocolate eyes, trusting her completely. A warmth spread through her core, like sitting by a fireplace or holding a mug of tea.

_I am remembered, and I am loved._

It was enough.

\--- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Sitting up in bed that night she held the dog, felt its heart beating in its chest. It stared at her, solemnly licked her nose, and yawned to reveal needle- sharp baby teeth.

"You're probably right . It's time we went to sleep. Auntie Isa will be home in a few days, and we have to look our best!"

The puppy seemed to agree, or at least didn't protest. As Florence turned off the lamp by her bedside and lay down, it followed suit, pawing down a soft bed in her hair. It nestled into a ball in the crook of her neck and soon lay still. She stared drowsily up at the ceiling, felt its sides moving with each breath and the warmth of its presence. 

And Florence fell into a golden, dreamless sleep.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

The room glowed from the first taste of sunrise, a pale glow that was more shadows than light. That was the first thing Florence was aware of.

The second was a something she couldn't put into words.

She saw... No, _sensed,_ that something was different. Something stood out in her mind.

After a quick scan of the room, nothing looked out of place. Same window, same curtain. Same mess of notebooks on the floor.

She shifted in place, and felt something wispy tickling her cheek. She raised her hand to feel the same long, golden puppy fur she'd cuddled into yesterday.

So what was this thought churning just beyond her reach?

Suddenly she realized- the smell. Something smelled undeniably familiar. 

Not the warm, wet smell of dog fur. Or the mint scented candle Jj gave her last month.

She relaxed into the bed to think.

It was cool, and crisp, like a chilly morning. But it was barely sweet, too. Like raspberries. Autumn leaves and raspberries. The smell was faint, but definitely there.

Finally the thought clicked into place. It smelled like the dye-friendly shampoo Isa always used. 

And of course her thoughts returned to Isabella. 

_Stop it. She'll be back soon._

She decided not to think about it today. Meantime, she had a perfect distraction whose fur still brushed her cheek. Funny, though. The fur on her cheek seemed a bit more silvery blonde than the honey- gold she'd seen yesterday. Surely a trick of the weak morning sunlight.

"Morning, sweetheart."

She reached behind her head to pet the dog. 

And at that exact moment saw it.

Curled up asleep in front of her. 

"Morning!” 

For a moment, her brain seized up, froze. She couldn't process the meaning of this. It was only when she felt a small hand grasp hers, Florence finally understood. 

She gasped and quickly rolled over, and was greeted by thick black eyeliner and smiling grey eyes. A stunned silence followed, and though she fully intended to squeal Isa's name her body had apparently stopped responding to its signals, and the only sound she made was a sort of whimper. 

The word was barely above a whisper :

" Surprise."

As Florence spoke, she gently touched Isa's face, her hands, as if assuring the figure before her was indeed real.

"But you're in LA."

" Then this is one hell of a dream!"

"It's early..."

"Recording went smoother than expected. Briggs was great. I was too, of course." Isa smiled. 

"Well, naturally. "

" So we finished early. Hotel room was booked for the next week, but I couldn't stay away that long. So I'm back!"

"I'm glad."

"How glad?" There was an obviously playful tone in Isa's voice, and she was totally unprepared for the bear hug she received in answer.

A muffled voice replied from somewhere buried deep in Isa's hair.

" Very, very glad. "

They lay there for a while, alive and together, but a whine from the other side of the bed reminded them they weren't alone.

"Oh! Did you like my present? It's a she, by the way."

Florence reached to hold the dog in question. 

"Oh, Is, she's lovely."

"But won't she be lonely? We can't take a dog on tour!"

Isa stroked the pup's fluffy ears and laughed. 

"Whyever not? We bring Gracie all the time, and I bet a dog will cost us less long distance hotel room calls!"

Florence couldn't help but laugh too.

"And take up less space..."

"So it's settled, then. She's all yours, Flossie."

A short silence followed, filled only with the snuffles of a tiny curious nose.

"Thanks, Isa."

Isa only shrugged it off. 

"It's nothing. I thought she was pretty cute, and you could use a pet."

But it meant more than that. It meant she was remembered. It meant Isa thought of her,  
worried about her, even 6,000 miles away.

Florence met Isa's eyes with an intense stare that caught her off guard.

"Really. Thank you."

Whatever Isa had planned to respond was cut off by the golden blur leaping onto her chest. Isa laughed as she caught her breath again and the puppy began tugging at her hair.

"Fierce little beast, isn't she?"

"Sure you didn't grab a wolf instead?"

"A graceful wood nymph with a wolf companion, its beautiful mistress the only one able to tame it? Yeah, that sounds like you! What'll you name her? "

"Oh... Hadn't thought of that...She could be like, our mascot?"

"Sorry, the position of small Machine has been filled."

"Right! Ah..." 

Isa giggled. 

"What?"

"You're doing that cute thing again. When you're thinking hard and you crinkle your nose..."

This comment was followed by a demonstration. The squirming puppy nipped at Florence’s hands as she rolled her eyes and shoved Isa playfully.

"Stop it! I'm trying to think!"

She rolled to stare at the ceiling. A fine veil descended onto her mind, the same mist of poetry she wove into her lyrics. 

The name had to be _right._

Words swirled about her as Isa and the dog and the bedroom faded into the background, along with the rest of reality. Happy words, good words.

The smell of crisp November mornings. Powdered-sugar snowflakes dusting Isa's hair, and cuddling by the fire. Flushed cheeks on rainy days from stomping through puddles like children. Heat waves drifting off the coal black pavement. Cool blackberry wine and an even colder pool, Isa's shrieks and indignant glare at being shoved in fully dressed. And when she'd reached down to apologize and help Isa back out, even though the mischievous smile told her what was coming next, she'd still let herself be pulled into the frigid water.

Such joy. Stability. What word could hold all this? Freedom and laughter, no future or worries. Love. And warmth... She only knew one person who held such an incredible warmth...

Scarlet hair whipped through the air as Florence bolted upright with a downright unnatural speed. Isabella flinched.

"What's goin on in that mind of yours?"

Triumphantly Florence announced her decision, pronouncing the word precisely.

"Summer."

"Summer? "

She nodded emphatically. 

"It's warm and golden. It's right."

Accustomed to such peculiar declarations, Isa nodded firmly. The pup had fallen asleep, and there was something endearingly maternal in the way Flo was now cradling her.

"She's perfect."

"I'm very glad you like her. Your girl looks about exhausted."

" _Our_ girl. Our own little Summer."


End file.
